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Rod Braceful scores a coveted USA Hockey job. Assist to John Vanbiesbrouck

18 Thursday Oct 2018

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Rod Braceful scored a plum job with USA Hockey. Give an assist to John Vanbiesbrouck.

Braceful, a 30-year-old former player from Detroit, Michigan, was named assistant director of player personnel for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program earlier this month.

Rod Braceful, assistant director of player personnel for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

Braceful, who was director of scouting last season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL, was the top choice from a large applicant pool for the NTDP job that he almost landed last season.

When Rick Comley Jr. left the assistant director of player personnel post to take an amateur scout position with the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes this season, Braceful jumped at the chance to reapply for the job.

“I told them that ‘I’m all in and I’m happy,'” Braceful said of his reaction when USA Hockey offered him the job. “It was a good call to have. There’s a lot of good, qualified people in the game looking for jobs, and there are not a lot of jobs.”

The NTDP position is more than just a job – it’s a launching pad. The last five assistant and chief player personnel directors have moved on to NHL jobs.

“Every person who really loves the game of hockey, of course, see themselves being part of the NHL, whether it’s playing or working,” Braceful said. “My playing career, which was short, I knew there was no way I could play there. But, of course, I’ve had thoughts of working there.”

Rod Braceful worked as director of scouting for John Vanbiesbrouck when he was general manager of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks (Photo/Michael Caples/MiHockey).

Braceful’s resume spoke volumes to USA Hockey’s brain trust:  a scouting director for a USHL team; Midwest hockey director for Legacy Global Sports, where he organized and led camps for Selects Hockey; a former coach in Michigan’s famed Little Caesars and Compuware youth hockey programs; a former player and coach at NCAA Division III New England College.

“The goal of the job is to identify, evaluate, educate top American players for our program,” Kevin Reiter, the NTDP’s director of player personnel. “He’s done that for numerous years.”

While Braceful’s credentials did a lot of the talking, Vanbiesbrouck, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director for hockey operations, also lobbied on his behalf.

Vanbiesbrouck, a former NHL All-Star goaltender, had first-hand knowledge of Braceful’s abilities because he was general manager of the Lumberjacks before taking the USA Hockey gig in May.

“He worked hand-in-hand with John last year in building that (Muskegon) team, so he had a familiarity with the league and the players and the talent needed in that league,” Reiter said. “Beezer was really an advocate for him, and rightfully so, he did a great job. But there was a lot more to our digging and our homework to make sure we were making the right choice.”

John Vanbiesbrouck, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director, recommended Rod Braceful for the assistant director of player personnel job with the National Team Development Program (Photo/USA Hockey).

Vanbiesbrouck gave Braceful one of the ultimate compliments in the sport, calling him “a good hockey person.”

“I wanted Kevin to keep an open mind, but I definitely recommended him,” Vanbiesbrouck told me. “I wanted Rob to get the job, for sure. He does great work, he’s very personable. People like Rod and that element in recruitment is important to the position.”

“I think he’s got a great knowledge for hockey, he knows the game well. I think that, in a lot of ways, we think of the game very similar,” Vanbiesbrouck added. “For a young to have the knowledge that he has and to be all-in is a good combination, and that’s why I categorize him as a hockey guy.”

Rod Braceful began playing recreation hockey as a kid in Detroit and played NCAA Division III hockey at New England College (Photo/Courtesy Rod Braceful).

USA Hockey’s hiring of Vanbiesbrouck was controversial. In 2003, when he was coach and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Vanbiesbrouck called his then-19-year-old defenseman Trevor Daley the N-word.

Vanbiesbrouck, discussing the episode with The Athletic’s Scott Burnside in August, said that he’s sorry and regrets using the word. He added that the incident “hasn’t defined my life” and that he’s a “very inclusive person.”

“So you ask the question, what have you done, what have you done?” he told Burnside. “I’ve done a lot of things. No. 1 is I had to repent…and ask God for forgiveness because I live by faith and I violated my own principles. And I know that.”

Braceful said working in Muskegon with Vanbiesbrouck, a fellow Michigander, was “a fine” educational experience.

“He was a good person to work under just because he has so much knowledge of the game from all the different parts of it,” Braceful said. “He had done some work with USA Hockey in the past and present. He knew the ins and the outs in dealing with the USHL as well as what they do with USA Hockey. And he knows a lot of people. You know what? He taught me a lot, as well as a lot of other guys at Muskegon.”

Rod Braceful started playing hockey at a young age, but didn’t get serious about the game until high school (Photo/Courtesy Rod Braceful).

Braceful has also learned from a few hockey coaches of color, particularly Jason Payne, the first-year assistant coach of the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, Jason McCrimmon, head coach and owner of Detroit’s Motor City Hawks of the U.S. Premier League, and Duante’ Abercrombie, the rookie head coach of the Washington Little Capitals 16U National Team, a youth program with a track record of developing players for junior, college and professional hockey teams.

He also can talk hockey with family. His older cousin, Cameron Burt, was a star player for NCAA Division I Rochester Institute of Technology from 2008-09 to 2011-12 and currently plays professionally in Slovakia.

Former Rochester Institute of Technology hockey star Cameron Burt is the cousin of Rod Braceful, the new assistant director of player personnel for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

“I’ve actually had the pleasure of knowing and learning from some older guys who were able to take me under their wings and be kind of distant mentors,” Braceful said. “There have been guys doing good things around. I think maybe now, they’re starting to be noticed.”

“They’re just trying to make their own way in the game, they just want to make sure they do a good job, they want to be the best,” he added. “And just keep working their way up the ladder.”

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Dr. Joel Boyd, the NHL’s first black team physician, is Wild about hockey

26 Sunday Aug 2018

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Call Dr. Joel Boyd an original.

He’s been taking care of broken bones, meniscus tears and other serious upper and lower body injuries as the Minnesota Wild’s physician and orthopedic surgeon since the team’s inception in 2000.

Dr. Joel Boyd (Photo/Minnesota Wild).

Before he became the National Hockey League’s first black team physician, Dr. Boyd was the physician for the U.S. men’s hockey team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan – the first Olympiad that featured squads comprised of NHL players.

“There weren’t very many African-American team physicians, period, especially at the pro level,” Dr. Boyd recalled. “And you consider how many African-Americans are playing the game, almost no matter what game you’re talking about, aside from hockey. At the time, there were no Major League Baseball black team physicians, no National Football League black head team physicians…”

Dr. Boyd has helped change that in a big way.  In addition to caring for Wild players, he’s the team physician for University of Minnesota football, the former team doc for the NFL Minnesota Vikings (He was the NFL’s second black team physician) and former physician for the Minnesota Lynx of the National Women’s Basketball Association.

Dr. Joel Boyd, second row, served as team physician for the U.S. men’s hockey team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, the first Olympiad that allowed NHL players to participate (Photo/USA Hockey).

He didn’t set out to be a hockey doc. Football was Dr. Boyd’s main game, having been a star running back at Bucknell University in the late 1970s.

But hockey always seemed to be in the background. He knew a bit about the game from growing up in the District of Columbia and watching a woeful 1974-75 Washington Capitals expansion team that featured Mike Marson, a rookie forward who became the NHL’s second black player.

“My friends and I would go and watch them play because they had a black player and we were, like, ‘Wow, we’ve got to see this,'” Dr. Boyd said. “It was just, like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.'”

Dr. Joel Boyd was first drawn to hockey by the woeful expansion 1974-75 Washington Capitals and the exploits of rookie forward Mike Marson, who was the NHL’s second black player (Photo/Washington Capitals).

But hockey fell off of Dr. Boyd’s radar as he turned his attention to football and his studies at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and later at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Hockey re-entered his world during a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Western Ontario in Canada where part of his training dealt with hockey injuries.

Dr. Boyd pulled double-duty at UWO, keeping with his fellowship while putting his Bucknell gridiron experience to use by serving as running backs coach for the Canadian university’s championship football team.

Dr. Joel Boyd, the NHL’s first black team physician, hangs out with Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player, at the 2017 NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles (Photo/Courtesy Dr. Joel Boyd).

The team had several black players from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who told Dr. Boyd about how scores of African-Americans fled the U.S. South to the Canadian Maritimes to escape the dehumanizing scourge of slavery.

There, they established the Coloured Hockey League, whose players authors George and Darril Fosty credit with creating some of the elements of modern hockey, including the slap shot and butterfly goaltending.

Dr. Boyd’s hockey involvement grew through a United States Olympic Committee training program for physicians that led to opportunities with USA Hockey.

By the mid-1990s, he was serving as a physician for the old Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League and for USA Hockey’s Under-17 teams and international squads.

He advanced in USA Hockey’s medical ranks to serve as national team physician from 1996 to 2000. His USA Hockey affiliation also began a sort of six degrees of separation chain that led to Dr. Boyd’s hiring by the Wild.

Through USA Hockey, Dr. Boyd met Bryant McBride, who was an architect of the NHL Diversity Task Force, the predecessor of the league’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

The initiative provides support and unique programming to some 30 nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America, offering kids of all backgrounds the opportunity to play the game and learn life lessons through the prism of hockey.

Working with McBride and the diversity task force, Dr. Boyd met Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player and the league’s diversity ambassador.

A light bulb clicked on in Dr. Boyd’s mind.

Dr. Joel Boyd, the NHL’s first black team physician, said he’s learned a lot about hockey from talking to Willie O’Ree, who became the league’s first black player in 1958 (Photo/Courtesy Dr. Joel Boyd).

“The whole thing started coming together in terms of what I learned in Canada about Halifax, meeting Willie, and putting the pieces together about blacks and hockey,” Dr. Boyd said.

Dr. Boyd’s task force work also put him into NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s orbit. Impressed the doctor’s career, Bettman put in a good word on his behalf with the expansion Wild’s ownership team.

“There were a number of people who helped support me locally, getting me to know the ownership group,” Dr. Boyd said. “But one of the big letters for me was actually from Gary Bettman. At that point, I had already been working with the Diversity Task Force for several years, so I had gotten to know Gary. I still have that letter he sent to the ownership group. That was sort of the beginning.”

In addition to serving as the Minnesota Wild’s team physician, Dr. Joel Boyd was the team physician for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Here, he’s tending to former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (Photo/Courtesy Dr. Joel Boyd).

Now, Dr. Boyd can be found in an office along the main corridor of St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center during most Wild home games, hoping that none of the players on the ice suddenly require his attention, but standing ready if they do.

“I love the game,” he said. “My boys love playing hockey. They played here in high school, my youngest son coaches at the high school where he went to school. They both played club hockey at Dartmouth.”

As for their dad?  “I look back and kind of go, ‘If I had learned to skate early, this might have been the sport for me,'” Dr. Boyd said with a laugh.

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Former NHL star McKegney conflicted by USA Hockey hiring of Vanbiesbrouck

02 Saturday Jun 2018

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Tony McKegney feels conflicted.

The retired National Hockey League forward isn’t sure how he feels about former NHL goaltender John Vanbeisbrouck becoming USA Hockey’s assistant executive director for hockey operations 15 years after he called a young Trevor Daley the N-word.

He knows Vanbiesbrouck from their days as teammates on the New York Rangers in 1986-87, McKegney’s only season on Broadway.

“John and I were good friends. We spent a lot of time together, we had a lot of fun together,” McKegney told me recently. “We went to concerts together, we golfed together, we must have roomed together at some point. We went to Florida together to my home in Jupiter. He was from near Detroit, I was from near Detroit, and we just got along.”

Former NHLer Tony McKegney was a teammate of John Vanbiesbrouck in New York (Photo/Soul on Ice Movie).

But having been one of the few black hockey players of his era, McKegney also knows the hurt that a then-19-year old Daley must have felt when Vanbiesbrouck – who was Daley’s coach and general manager with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – used a racial slur in 2003 to define him.

“I just felt for the kid because it just brought back some memories for me,” McKegney said of the episode. “Going forward, I just don’t know how to feel about it now. I don’t know. When I hear that word, it brings up some tough memories.”

USA Hockey tapped Vanbiesbrouck last month to succeed Jim Johannson, who passed away in January. Vanbiesbrouck addressed the Daley controversy in a teleconference with reporters last week, saying he was “absolutely, 100 percent wrong” for using the slur.

“I’m extremely sorry for it,” he told reporters. “It’s not who I am, it doesn’t define me as a person and I have no prejudices in me, and it will never happen again.”

USA Hockey Executive Director Pat Kelleher added that Vanbiesbrouck looks at the incident as “a terrible situation, an awful mistake, something that’s helped change him for the better.”

Vanbiesbrouck’s hiring has been criticized on social media by hockey fans who say it sends the wrong message about a sport that says it promotes diversity and inclusion.

But others online have expressed support for Vanbiesbrouck, acknowledging that he made a terrible mistake, but asserting that 15 years is a long time to hold it against him.

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McKegney says he’s not one to judge another person’s actions considering the troubled times he’s had in his life.

He pleaded guilty to impaired driving in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, in 2017 and guilty to operating a water craft in Kingston, Ontario, while intoxicated in 2015  – a case that brought incidents of substance and domestic abuse to light.

“I’ve certainly made some errors in my life, made some bad judgments, made some mistakes I would love to take back,” said McKegney, who attributes some of the problems to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative brain disease that he says stems from concussions he suffered during his playing career. “I’m certainly not defending anything.”

Still, Vanbiesbrouck’s hiring stoked memories of the 2003 incident for McKegney along with unpleasant recollections of the racial abuse that he endured from the time he started playing hockey as a kid through his 13-year NHL career.

McKegney said he heard racial slurs so much that “I thought the N-word was my middle name.”

Though Willie O’Ree was the NHL’s first black player, Val James the league’s first American-born black player, and goalie Grant Fuhr the first black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, McKegney was the NHL’s first black star.

He was the first black player to score 40 goals in a season and the first to score 20 or more goals in eight seasons.

McKegney tallied 320 goals and 319 assists in 912 NHL season games for the Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, Minnesota North Stars, Hartford Whalers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings between 1978-79 to 1990-91. He notched 24 goals and 23 assists in 79 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

“Tony McKegney showed me it was possible for someone like me to play in the NHL,” future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla said in author Cecil Harris’ book, “Breaking The Ice, The Black Experience in Professional Hockey.” “He set the example. He was a role model.”

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But McKegney’s on-ice accomplishments weren’t enough to shield him from racist taunts from fans and opposing players.

“In certain cities, we’d go to St. Louis, we’d go to Atlanta (Flames), Pittsburgh, for some reason, then Philadelphia,” McKegney said. “It was a small group of people, but you feared the words coming out.”

Occasionally, the racial insensitivity occurred on teams he played for.

“I had an assistant coach come up to me and ask me if I could date a black woman versus a white woman,” said McKegney, who was adopted and raised by white parents. “This happened in the early ’80s, and this (white) woman became my wife. When I heard that, I thought ‘My God.'”

Tony McKegney was a high-scoring forward for Buffalo, St. Louis, Detroit, Quebec, N.Y. Rangers. and Minnesota North Stars (Photo/Buffalo Sabres Archives).

When McKegney heard about the racial incident with Vanbiesbrouck, he said he reached out to Daley and chatted with briefly after a junior hockey game in Ontario.

“It was a one of those subjects where he wanted to focus on how well he was doing and just be positive and not dredge up anything, the past,” McKegney said. “Obviously, he was moving forward.”

McKegney’s trying to do the same thing these days. Instead of dwelling on an ugly moment in 2003, he prefers to think about how well Daley has done in his career.

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A 2002 Dallas Stars second round draft pick, Daley, now 34, is a two-time Stanley Cup champions who has helped anchor defenses for the Stars, Chicago Blackhawks,Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.

“Every time I see Trevor Daley, and see he’s still playing and having success, I think about that part,” McKegney said. “And I draw on that positive.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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Hockey diversity advocates express dismay, disappointment over Vanbiesbrouck hiring

29 Tuesday May 2018

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Several supporters of diversity and inclusion in hockey are expressing dismay and disappointment over USA Hockey’s decision to make retired NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck its assistant executive director for hockey operations.

Anson Carter, who played in the National Hockey League for 11 seasons and now analyzes NHL and U.S. college hockey for NBC Sports Network, didn’t mince words about USA Hockey’s selection of Vanbiesbrouck, who called Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley the N-word when he played Canadian major junior hockey 15 years ago.

Former NHLer Anson Carter questions USA Hockey’s hiring of John Vanbiesbrouck.

“I understand people make mistakes and eventually they should be forgiven. However, I find it very hard to believe that USA Hockey couldn’t find anyone else that was a suitable candidate without that kind of baggage who was eligible to hold such an important position,” said Carter, who  also hosts “The MSG Hockey Show” in New York.

“Hockey is moving forward not going backwards.”

John Paris Jr., the first black head coach to win a professional ice hockey championship, wrote on the sports website Boxscore  that “John Vanbiesbrouck should not be branded a die-hard racist” for uttering a racial slur at Daley in 2003.

Daley was captain of the Sault. Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Vanbiesbrouck was coach and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League team at the time.

“However, his nomination by USA Hockey as an assistant director of hockey operations has created some confusion which has multiple ethnic groups questioning the why,” Paris wrote. “Could this be privilege or a poorly handled situation?”

Lexi LaFleur Brown, wife of forward J.T. Brown, who played for the Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning last season, tweeted “I buy @usahockey membership every year to play. I hope one day our kids will play.”

“But right now I am extremely disappointed,” she wrote in the May 25 tweet. “Does this new hire promote growth and the best experience? Shouldn’t growth include taking steps to assure no one is ever called a racial slur again?”

USA Hockey officials formally introduced Vanbiesbrouck as its new assistant executive director for hockey operations on Friday. He succeeds Jim Johannson, who passed away in January at the age of 53.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley.

Vanbiesbrouck addressed the Daley incident in a teleconference with reporters on Friday, saying “I was absolutely, 100 percent wrong” for using the slur against a then-19-year-old Daley.

“There’s not a lot of days that go by that I don’t feel remorse for that,” he added. “I’m extremely sorry for it. It’s not who I am, it doesn’t define me as a person and I have no prejudices in me, and it will never happen again.”

Vanbiesbrouck and USA Hockey officials said they’re committed to making hockey more diverse and inclusive in the United States.

“I’m proud to say that USA Hockey has a long-standing way forward and a really great slogan… and that is hockey is for everybody and for everyone,” Vanbiesbrouck told reporters Friday. “And we’re going to continue to build on that work and further diversity and inclusion, and I look forward to being a big part of those efforts.”

Still, Vanbiesbrouck’s appointment has received heavy criticism on social media. The 20-season NHL veteran has also received support from people who believe in the power of forgiveness and point out that the incident occurred 15 years ago.

Since then, Vanbiesbrouck and Daley have climbed hockey’s ladder. Vanbiesbrouck was general manager of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL before taking the USA Hockey job.

Daley has developed into a solid NHL defenseman, playing for the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Red Wings. He won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins before signing with the Red Wings last season.

Val James, the NHL’s first U.S.-born black player, thinks it’s fine for John Vanbiesbrouck to hold a high-level position with USA Hockey – if he’s personally apologized to Trevor Daley for calling him the N-word in 2003.

Val James, who became the NHL’s first American-born black player when he joined the Buffalo Sabres in 1981-82 believes that Vanbiesbrouck needs to personally apologize to Daley and his family for the slur – if he hasn’t already –  as he assumes the USA Hockey post.

“I think John should personally apologize to Trevor for calling him that demeaning word,” James told me. “John now being in that position should wipe the slate clean.”

Vanbiesbrouck said he’s “a big fan” of Daley’s but added that their “paths have not crossed” over the years.

“I’m not in a lot of the big buildings where he’s been at the pro level,” Vanbiesbrouck told me. “I’ve been mostly in minor hockey buildings…he’s been far removed from that.”

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Vanbiesbrouck discusses Trevor Daley N-word incident and new USA Hockey job

26 Saturday May 2018

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USA Hockey formally introduced its new assistant executive director for hockey operations Friday, former NHL All-Star goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, who wasted little time in addressing the elephant in the room: His use of the N-word against then-19-year-old defenseman Trevor Daley in 2003.

“I wanted to touch on a topic from my past that has resurfaced from my announcing and my hiring,” Vanbiesbrouck told a teleconference of reporters. “And that is an incident that happened 15 years ago when I was coach and general manager at Sault Ste. Marie and it was a racial slur and I was absolutely, 100 percent wrong.

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“There’s not a lot of days that go by that I don’t feel remorse for that,” he added. “I’m extremely sorry for it. It’s not who I am, it doesn’t define me as a person and I have no prejudices in me, and it will never happen again.”

Shortly after that, the hockey writers on the call proceeded ask Vanbiesbrouck questions, some of them deftly avoiding the elephant.

For the most part, the questions ranged from how Vanbiesbrouck views the future of  U.S. hockey to who he’d like to coach the 2019 U.S. world junior championship team after Boston University Head Coach David Quinn – who was tapped to be the American bench boss at the worlds – signed to coach the New York Rangers in 2018-19.

Only one reporter – Craig Custance from The Athletic – directly broached the Daley racial incident, asking USA Hockey Executive Director Pat Kelleher how much he looked into the March 2003 incident that led to Vanbiesbrouck quitting as coach and GM of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and prompting  the OHL to level its stiffest penalty ever – a $50,000 fine – against the team.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley.

He asked Kelleher what he learned that made him comfortable enough to give Vanbiesbrouck a job in which he’ll focus on international men’s, women’s and sled hockey and bolster junior hockey within the United States.

“We certainly looked into it, we were aware of the situation, it’s something we had knowledge of,” Kelleher said of the N-word episode. “As John alluded to, it’s something that’s very difficult for him, it’s something he deals with all the time. He looks at it as a terrible situation, an awful mistake, something that’s helped change him for the better.”

Another hockey scribe, Chris Peters from ESPN, did ask what led USA Hockey to choose Vanbiesbrouck over other candidates.

“John’s experience in hockey, his background with us, will allow him to make the most of all the people we have because he really understands our organization and how everyone from volunteers to staff contributes to putting elite teams on ice for our men, the women, and our sled program,” Kelleher said.

Vanbiesbrouck’s hiring has been met with criticism on social media.

But the former goalie who played parts of 20 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils also received words of encouragement online from people who say that 15 years is a long time and people can change.

I had some questions for Vanbiesbrouck, but I wasn’t called on during the teleconference. I contacted USA Hockey, which put Vanbiesbrouck on the phone with me.

I asked him how he applies the lessons that he learned from the Daley incident to the way he conducts hockey business, and how he’ll apply the lessons to his USA Hockey job. Prior to landing his new post, Vanbiesbrouck served as general manager of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

“First of all, I know that I’ve been forgiven and I’m strong in my faith,” Vanbiesbrouck told me. “I apply that every day because there’s a direction that comes from faith that guides you. Some people have an opinion, but I have (leaned) on that faith to know that I am forgiven, and I forgive others. So that’s important to me, and that’s probably the Number One, strongest way that I can tell you about it.”

He also told me that he applies the lessons learned through volunteerism, largely through USA Hockey.  He pointed to giving speeches for Hockey Ministries International and raising funds for the Alan T. Brown Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis.

“People who are disabled are in a minority group,” he said.

I asked Vanbiesbrouck if he’s spoken with Daley in the years since the N-word episode. Both are in Michigan. Vanbiesbrouck is a native of the state and  Daley finished his first season as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

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“Our paths have not crossed,” he told me. “I’m a big fan of Trevor’s – we live on the other side of the state. I’m not in a lot of the big buildings where he’s been at the pro level. I’ve been mostly in minor hockey buildings…he’s been far removed from that.”

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USA Hockey hiring of Vanbiesbrouck, stirs memories of Daley racial incident

24 Thursday May 2018

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USA Hockey hired NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck  as its  assistant director for hockey operations Wednesday, prompting outrage from some hockey fans who remember that he called Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley the N-word in 2003.

Pat Kelleher, USA Hockey’s executive director said  in a written statement that “We are beyond thrilled to have John join our staff.”

“Through his exceptional playing career, what he has done since retiring and his history with USA Hockey, John is well positioned to lead a very important part of our organization and I know he is excited to get started.”

Vanbiesbrouck, who had been serving as general manager of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL, said on the team’s website that he’s “humbled and honored” about taking a top position at the nation’s hockey governing body.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity USA Hockey has given me and the future of hockey in our country.”

He was hired to succeed Assistant Executive Director Jim Johannson, who passed away on Jan. 21 at the age of 53.

USA Hockey told me that the Daley incident “definitely was a topic of conversation in the interview process.”  An official said that the incident “was a mistake which John acknowledged, apologized for and in the end has been an isolated incident.”

The official said Vanbeisbrouck is “in lock step with USA Hockey’s way forward that hockey is for everyone.”

But many hockey fans blasted Vanbiesbrouck’s hiring on social media.

But the former goalie known as “Beezer” also had his supporters.

Vanbiesbrouck called Daley the N-word in 2003 in front of teammates when Daley was captain of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Vanbiesbrouck was the team’s coach and general manager.

The incident prompted the Ontario Hockey League to level its harshest fine ever – $50,000 – against the Greyhounds. Vanbiesbrouck resigned from his positions and sold his shares in the team.

“I think there was an understanding on our part that what occurred was damaging to us in terms of a league and what we try to be,” OHL Commissioner David Branch said in 2003. “We had to respond in a strong, clear fashion to make sure everyone understands we do not stand for this and this is not part of our value system.”

Vanbiesbrouck confirmed to The Toronto Star in 2003 that he used the slur against Daley and acknowledged he had used the N-word  “more than once.”

“My comments were inappropriate and out of character, and I deeply regret my actions,” Vanbiesbrouck said in 2003.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley.

The episode prompted Daley to temporarily quit the Greyhounds. He returned to the major junior team, saying “While I am deeply disturbed by the hurtful and careless comments that were directed at me, I am proud and honored to be a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.”

The incident didn’t hinder Daley’s hockey career. The Dallas Stars selected him in the second round of the 2002 NHL Draft – a year before the N-word incident. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has seen action for the Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Red Wings.

Ironically, the Greyhounds and the OHL found themselves dealing with another racial incident last month after Kitchener Rangers forward Givani Smith, who is black, received a death threat and was subjected to racial slurs via social media following the Rangers 4-3 win against the Soo.

A Michigan native, Vaniesbrouck played  parts of 20 NHL seasons backstopping the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.

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He’s a five-time NHL All-Star who won 374 games, the most by an American-born NHL goaltender. He won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 1986 as a member of the Rangers.

Vanbiesbrouck led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.  He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

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USA Hockey’s K’Andre Miller proves that looks, and stereotypes, can be deceiving

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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K’Andre Miller remembers getting occasional odd looks or sometimes racially-coded responses after telling people what sport he plays.

K’Andre Miller, defense, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“They didn’t see me as ‘the hockey player type.’ I was a long, skinny kid. I looked like a basketball player,” Miller told me recently. “Every time I would go out to eat, people would be, like, ‘Oh, you play basketball, don’t you?’ I’d be like, ‘No, I actually play hockey.’ And they’d be like ‘Wow, you don’t really look like that type of player.'”

As a defenseman on USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 squad, Miller is proving them wrong.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pound 17-year-old from Minnetonka, Minnesota, is blossoming into a blue-chip blue-liner for the NTDP after making the switch from forward only two season ago.

Miller, who’ll turn 18 on Jan. 21, will be eligible for the 2018 National Hockey League Draft in June in Dallas. NHL Central Scouting gave Miller a “B” rating last month, meaning he’s projected to be second or third-round pick.

He played in the 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo, New York, in September. He’s tallied 2 assists in the U.S. National Under-18 team’s first 13 games of the 2017-18 season and notched 3 goals and 14 assists in 54 games for the Under-17 squad in 2016-17.

NHL Central Scouting projects defenseman K’Andre Miller to be a second or third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in June (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, the national team development program competes internationally, and also plays U.S. colleges and teams in the United States Hockey League, the nation’s only Tier 1 junior league.

While Miller has his sights set on playing in the NHL, he’ll attend the University of Wisconsin first.

He’s committed to play for the Badgers and Head Coach Tony Granto – who’s also the bench boss for the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympics men’s hockey team in South Korea in February – starting in the 2018-19 season.

If  Miller achieves his NHL goal, give an assist to to Minnesota Wild team captain Mikko Koivu.

“For my ninth birthday, I went down to Dallas to watch the Stars play the Wild,” Miller told me. “We went down to the locker room after the game and Mikko came up to me, shook my hand, said happy birthday, and asked when the next time I would be at a home game in Minnesota because he was going to try to get me a stick.

K’Andre Miller looks forward to playing in the NHL someday. But first he’ll play for the University of Wisconsin, starting next season (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“I went back to the rink in Minnesota about two months later and he picked me out in the stands, he had the trainer come up with a stick and hand it right to me,” Miller added. “That was probably the coolest experience I think I’ve ever had with an NHL player.”

That experience helped seal the deal for Miller wanting to become a professional hockey player. But Miller’s uncle, Ken, should also get an assist for exposing his nephew to the game at an early age.

“He would take me out on the rink when I was little,” Miller recalled. “I started skating when I was two and he kind of helped me, put a stick in my hand, kind of taught me the game.

“I’d go over to his house whenever I wanted to and just watch games with him,” he added. “One of the cool things I still like about my Uncle Ken is whenever I usually go over there, we play roller hockey in his backyard.”

K’Andre Miller, right, is all smiles playing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Minnesota has produced several talented black hockey players, including Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, forwards Kyle Okposo of the Buffalo Sabres and J.T. Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Keegan Iverson, a 2014 NHL draftee who plays for the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ American Hockey League farm team.

But that hasn’t stopped some folks from wondering what the tall black kid from Minnetonka is doing on the ice with a stick in his hand. Miller takes pride in showing doubters that he’s built for the NHL.

“It’s always been my motivation to prove to people that no matter what your skin color is, what you look like in general, you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it,” he said. “When I see people of color in my community in Minnetonka and Hopkins trying to play hockey, I always go up to them whenever I can and straight-up tell them ‘Don’t listen to what anybody says. Play whatever you want to play, if it’s hockey, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, whatever you want to do. Just do it.'”

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Tyler Inamoto follows Samurai code on path to NHL after 2017 draft

24 Saturday Jun 2017

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CHICAGO – Tyler Inamoto talks about playing hockey the right way.

Florida Panthers draftee Tyler Inamoto (Photo/Len Redkoles).

He also talks about playing it the Samurai way.

“Hockey is a lot of courage and passion and a lot of integrity,” said Inamoto, a defenseman for the USA Hockey National Development Team. “The principles of the Samurai code is pretty applicable to hockey.”

Inamoto hopes to employ the code playing for the Florida Panthers, which took the 6-foot-2 defenseman in the fifth round with the 133rd overall pick in the 2017 National Hockey League Draft in Chicago Saturday.

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“I was just honored to be picked by the Florida Panthers and look forward to the opportunity to play for them some day,” said Inamoto, who grew up in the Chicago area.

However, Inamoto won’t be suiting up for the Panthers soon. He’ll start playing for the University of Wisconsin and head coach Tony Granato this fall. NHL Central Scouting ranked Inamoto as the 68th-best North American skater eligible for the draft.

Granato calls him a big, mean defenseman whom he expects to contribute to the Badgers almost immediately.

“He’ll be a physical impact player right away next year,” Granato said.

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Inamoto joins a growing list of players of Asian heritage who were drafted in this weekend’s draft and previous NHL drafts in recent years.

Inamoto is of Japanese descent and learned a lot about his heritage – including the Samurai code – from his grandfather, Fujio Inamoto, who was placed in a British Columbia internment camp during World War II. He passed away in 2014.

“He taught me a lot about hard work and perseverance, as well, because coming out of internment camp, he had to work hard to support the family since he lost all (his) land,” the younger Inamoto told The Chicago Tribune. “…And he persevered through all that. I learned a lot from him.”

They are lessons that he doesn’t take lightly. He hopes to make history by becoming one of the few players of Japanese heritage to reach the NHL.

“It’s a big deal – there aren’t too many Japanese hockey players out there,” said Inamoto, who was born in New Jersey but raised in suburban Chicago. “So if I can be an influence to some of those guys growing up and inspire them to play hockey, I definitely take that very seriously and I’ll do my best to be a good role model to them.”

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Foley, Greenway, and Jones make U.S. roster for junior championship tourney

24 Saturday Dec 2016

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Erik Foley, Jordan Greenway, and Caleb Jones received early Christmas presents Saturday – roster spots on the U.S. team that will compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

With its final roster announcement, USA Hockey will skate one of the most diverse teams in the 10-nation tournament that begins Monday in Toronto and Montreal.

The three American players join Team Canada’s Mathieu Joseph and  Team Sweden’s Oliver Kylington members of the diverse National Hockey League draft class of 2015 who will represent their countries in the tournament.

Providence College Friars forward Erik Foley in action for Team USA against Finland (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Providence College Friars forward Erik Foley in action for Team USA against Finland (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Foley, a Winnipeg Jets third round draft pick, is a forward for Providence College Friars of Hockey East. A sophomore, Foley leads the team in scoring with 7 goals and 8 assists in 15 games.

Boston University's Jordan Greenway earns spot on U.S. roster for IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Boston University’s Jordan Greenway earns spot on U.S. roster for IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Greenway, a Minnesota Wild second round draft pick, is a forward for Boston University of Hockey East. The sophomore is the Terriers’ second-leading scorer with 6 goals and 10 assists in 16 games.

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones will patrol the blue line for Team USA at IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones will patrol the blue line for Team USA at IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Jones, an Edmonton Oilers fourth round draft pick, plays defense for the Portland Winterhawks, a major junior team in the Western Hockey League. Jones, the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, is fifth on the Winterhawks in scoring with 3 goals and 28 assists in 32 games. He’s tenth in scoring among WHL defensemen.

Mathieu Joseph, right, will play for Canada at the world junior championship tournament in Montreal and Toronto (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images)

Mathieu Joseph, right, will play for Canada at the world junior championship tournament in Montreal and Toronto (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images)

Team Canada’s Joseph, a Tampa Bay Lightning fourth round selection, is a forward for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He’s the Sea Dogs’ second-leading scorer with 33 goals and 40 assists in 58 games.

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And let’s not forget Sweden’s Kylington. When he isn’t wearing his country’s classy Three Crowns jersey, the Calgary Flames second round draft pick skates for the Stockton Heat, the Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate.

Kylington is ninth on the Heat in scoring – and second among defensemen – with 4 goals and 9 assists in 25 games. He appeared in one game for the Flames in 2015-16.

 

 

J.D. Greenway heads the Toronto Maple Leafs way in 2016 NHL Draft

25 Saturday Jun 2016

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J.D. Greenway, a man-child of a defenseman, was grabbed by the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday with the third round with the 72nd overall pick in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft.

International Scouting Services listed  the 6-foot-4, 204-pound 18-year-old as the tenth-best available defenseman in the draft, calling him a quality package of size, speed, athleticism.

“He can play a finesse game despite his large from and he can play a physical game as well,” wrote ISS scout Phil Myre, a former NHL goalie. “Putting it all together consistently has been his biggest challenge. If he ever does, he’ll be a top player.”

SBNation’s college hockey site said Greenway “can be a punishing physical force to opponents, especially along the boards.”

“He’d going to get under the skin of the opposition an make life difficult for them,” SBNation reported. “He also has the ability to step up and make a big hit if he catches an opponent not looking in the neutral zone.”

 

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A member of the USA Hockey National Team Development ProgramUnder-18 squad that competes against United States Hockey League, collegiate, and international teams, Greenway scored 5 goals and 23 assists in 64 games.

The Potsdam, N.Y., native is continuing a family draft tradition. His brother, Boston University left wing Jordan Greenway, was chosen by the Minnesota Wild last year in the second round with the 50th overall pick.

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Like his brother, J.D. is going the NCAA Division I route before turning pro. He’s committed to play for the University of Wisconsin.

Still, the Greenway brothers could end up as teammates this year. Both are among 42 players invited to USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp July 30-Aug. 7 in Plymouth, Michigan.

The players are auditioning for spots on the 2017 U.S. team that will compete in the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship tournament in Helsinki this winter.